T: There is some citrus rind up front followed by a bit of piny and grassy hop flavors. There's a light bitterness as well, but it doesn't linger around. Quite nice, all around, with the hops definitely present without being as in-your-face as an IPA.

M: Light-medium body with medium carbonation that goes fairly well with the hop flavors.

More User Reviews:

The labeling on the six-pack caught my with the crazy looking king on it to begin with,poured a hazy-yellow color with extreme hoppy mown grass smell.Taste was a little piney,with definent hop overtones.Alittle malty in the background but in my opinion not quite balanced enough,a decent beer but maybe a bit overated.

Juniper! The second I open this bottle my hot and humid kitchen becomes an alpine mountain side. I love it!

This could be dangerous, however, because sometimes beers with a juniper nose of this magnitude have an overly juniper or gin like taste. This is not something that I tend to enjoy since I am not, never have been, and god willing never will be a gin drinker. This doesnt necessarily kill a beer for me but it does reduce its drinkability.

Thankfully, the Alpha King delivers a taste of intense hops and chilled citrus instead of juniper berries. Im not sure how the good folks at Three-Floyds struck this balance, offering an uber bold scent while maintaining a smooth cool taste, but they did.

Also to its benefit, this beer is hyper drinkable. Despite its relative strength, I could polish off a sixer in a sitting and enjoy it.

This just might be the best APA Ive ever had. If its not, its darn close.

Pours a cloudy copper color with a small, off-white head that settles pretty quickly and doesn't leave too much lacing behind. Aroma is pretty strong and pungent right from the start; peppery, earthy, and raw, dirty hops come up and smack your nostrils hard. Heavy, heavy malt backdrop on this one, almost so much that it's hard to refer to it as just a "backdrop" - it's nearly as strong as the hops. Just front the nose, this one smells a little stronger than 6.66% ABV, I'm picking up some slightly warm alcohol notes behind everything else.

Alpha King hits the palate and seemingly evaporates in my mouth. Slick and medium bodied with a boat-load of carbonation that starts to fizzle away as soon as it touches my tongue. Pungent grapefruit rind is the first flavor to pop into my head - raw, bittersweet, and certainly unadulterated. Some spicy, herbal, and leafy hops dance around the thick malt underlaying, full of ever-so-slightly toasted caramel malts. White pepper crowds the aftertaste, finishing alongside a light bitterness. A sweet, bready flavor sits heavy on all edges of the mouth - noticeable even minutes after having taken a sip. As strong as the hop punch is, the malt is nearly as dominant in this beer.

A nice tasty concoction of malt and hops, heavy on both and not holding back from much. Doesn't taste much like an APA, rather I think this one is more deserving of a malty IPA title. Either way, it's pretty drinkable and goes down easily. Maybe a tad overrated in my opinion, but good nonetheless.

A: AKPA has an amber color when not held to light and a ruby-orange color when held to light. I find it to be a beautiful hue. A light khaki head sits at a finger and a half from a medium pour into a snifter. A full-covering film retains nicely, with scallion-like circles residing in it. Sleek, stringy carbonation bubbles move at a mezzo pace up the glass. The lacing is so good - sticky with fine hieroglyphic patterns all over the glass.

S: Big citrus aromas of orange, grapefruit, and a hint of lime blend with a subdued caramel malt presence and a dry, biscuity yeast scent. A dry, piney hop aroma also emanates from the beer.

T: Those dry, piney hops ride my palate for the length of the sip, supported by grapefruit and an inkling of caramel. The caramel sweetness and an orange flavor linger on my tongue past each swallow, then are trumped by grapefruit and pine hop dryness that has serious staying power. I am pretty astounded by how dry and bitter AK is. It is certainly the the king of PAs in term of bitterness, so much so that it almost tastes like it was aged in oak barrels.

M: In a word: puckering. The feel is medium bodied overall with just about the right carbonation. The bitterness sort of turns the MF into a one-dimensional feel.

D: I will be seeking this out again. This is the second Three Floyds beer that I have imbibed, and I am blown away so far. I knock this down just a notch because the bitterness detracts from session-ability a little bit, which I find to be a key component of a pale ale.

Thin head evaporates to surface mottling over dark, brownish-amber beer. Nose is fruity and piney hops. Alpha indeed. This beer is straight up bitter. It may be the bitterest beer I've ever had. Deeply resinous with bigearthy/ cinnemon in finish. Mouthfeel is thick and sticky.

This is a well-made brew but not my style. I'm way more into FFF's Gumballhead, which I consider an IPA also (though it is wheat-based), and showcases Amarillo hop flavor beautifully.

T/M: dry and grassy up front, followed by a medium body and a touch of sugar. grapefruit, citrus, soft and stinky cheese. more husky grain and bread. finishes with a lingering dryness and grainy mouthfeel. coating but coarse. carbonation is crisp and lively.

D: very enjoyable. very very enjoyable. 6% is a bit high for such a drinkable and flavorful brew. wish i could get all the time, would be happy to purchase repeatedly. cheers.

It pours a amber reddish color with a small off white head, medium lacing and low retention.

The nose is a nice fairly balanced blend of orange, grassy hop aromas and some sweet toffee like malt aromas

The taste is much less balanced and more hop forward as I expect. Grassy hops dominate with just enough orange citrus to make me feel like I'm not chewing on the lawn. The bitterness is fairly harsh and resiny which I do not always appreciate. On the backend some vegetal flavors emerge which isn't so great and not what I usually remember. I know this is a fresh bottle as well.

Mouthfell is ok, some dryness because of the lasting bitterness. Drinkability is good for an APA. Overall I have always enjoyed this beer as something that is sometimes available in places that have a bad selection, and that's about where I'll keep it.